Fool's Gold
by achirite
Summary: AU. Kurama never died, so he has never merged with Shuichi. Botan, the spirit world spy, is on a mission to gather information from inside his lair with her backstabbing partner Ayame. Sounds easy, right? Edited, name changed.
1. One

Fool's Gold

Chapter One

A/N: This is an AU. To those who managed to somehow get confused, Youko Kurama never died so he was never reincarnated into Suichi's body. So there. Edited for cruddiness 7/9/06.

* * *

_I'll be the garden, you'll be the snake. All of my fruit is yours to take.  
- _Madonna, _Like It Or Not._

Botan pushed a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. "So I go to Kuarma's, er, lair thing, right? And then I ask for a job?" Koenma smiled. Despite her lack of vocabulary, he knew that Botan was quite intelligent.

"Yes, Botan. All you would have to do is go into his territory. I hear he's quite possessive of it. Ayame will follow a few days after you to take away suspicion of her arrival."

Botan searched his slanted eyes - they were more visible in his human form, not hidden by the usual folds of baby fat. It didn't sound _too_ dangerous, but she was still a rookie. Would he send her out on a mission if a sacrifice was needed? No, he was already too attached to her, and he didn't strike her as that kind of a leader...but was she sure?

No, but she had no other option than obeying. Damned if you do..."That sounds like a lovely plan, Koenma-sama. I'll gather my things as soon as possible," she replied, plastering on a grin.

"I know you can pull it off, Botan." he said with a wry smile. "However, I must warn you that his particular kind of youkai can smell lies from a mile away. He can smell anything on you, from fear to malice. You must be very, very careful."

"I will have the utmost precaution, Koenma-sama. Thank you. Who will fly me to his territory?" she asked.

"I know it's a hassle, but you'll have to fly yourself there with some supplies for the journey. None of the other ferry girls will get near there for fear." he sighed exasperatedly. "I couldn't even get Hinageshi to do it, and she's a pushover."

Botan liked the little redheaded ferrygirl and, on principle, disliked Koenma's constant exploitation of her, but wisely betrayed none of her thoughts in her expression and simply nodded.

"Anyway, you can leave today or tomorrow! It's your choice." He smiled as if this were a large treat.

"I think I'll leave today. Thanks." she said rather briefly. Wandering to her apartments, she wondered which outfit would be appropriate for both traveling and applying for a job.

Her bags were ready within a few minutes, and she was clad in black clinging material suitable for fighting, her hair tied up in the usual ponytail. Her oar hovered eagerly near the door, and she leapt onto it after tying her small parcel of necessaries to the back.

Her oar sped through the worlds, her ponytail flying out comfortably far behind her. It was a long, tedious ride, and she found herself spending a lot of the time nearly falling off the oar when she fell asleep. She was very relieved when she reached the familiar area of Makai, and sped downwards immediately when she spotted a gleaming lake.

Now, to mask the scent of a Reiki official that had been in close contact with many office employees. It wasn't exactly a _nice_ lake, and she wouldn't have bathed there if she'd thought she had a choice, but it would do. At least the surrounding area was gorgeous - the signature Makai treesstoodtall and regal, and a small field of purple flowers swayed in the breeze to the west. The brackish water looked about as inviting as mud, but she stripped anyways, pulling out several bars of fresh-smelling soap. She scrubbed herself unmercifully, then happily basked in the water for a few minutes, ignoring the small voice saying that she should definitely be getting on and the rather strange texture of the water plants that grew in the shallows.

After motivating herself, she wrung out her wet hair, sat on a nearby rock and dried off. She was beginning to feel a sunburn coming on (not an attractive idea for someone who wanted mobility without pain) so she hurriedly dressed. She once again pulled on her somewhat smelly black clothing, then was about to conjure her oar out of the air when she felt watched. Her hand stopped mid reach, and she masked the movement by reaching for one of the purple flowers near her feet.

She shrieked and recoiled as a mouth, equipped with large fangs, formed out of the flower and bit her.The bite was more than hard enough to break the skin, and she paled at the amount of blood welling on her hand.Gargantuan vines burst out of the ground, surrounding her, waving in every direction. The thorns on them were growing rapidly longer. She was sure that they would soon pierce any part of her that stood in their way.

She swiftly pulled a sword from her belt and hacked with a vigor that only occurred when her life was threatened. As soon as she cut one more grew, and the sap that oozed out whenever she severed a vine made the skin it landed on bubble in a particularly nasty looking, painful way.

She screamed as a large amount of the liquid landed on her right arm, bubbling furiously. The sword dropped from her hand. Knees buckling, she fell to the small amount of ground available in her thorny prison.

She blinked furiously as she realized the thorns were forming everywhere but where she sat. They seemed unable to form this low. She imagined her obituary, and snickered darkly. "Argh...killed by a fucking plant because she didn't realize it couldn't reach her on a lower level..."

"Well, they'll keep you there as long as I want." a silky voice interrupted. Botan's eyes widened as she looked up through the enclosure of thorns to see a man, fox ears positioned atop his fair-haired head. His skin was paler than hers, she thought with slight jealousy. His eyes were an obnoxiously handsome shade of gold.

_Youko Kurama._

Why did he have to steal gold when he had such golden eyes? Weren't they good enough?


	2. Two

Fool's Gold

Chapter Two

A/N: Reeally late update, sorry guys. Edited 7/9/06, same as Chapter One.

* * *

_While it's hard to be yourself, it's not to be someone else.  
- _Jet, _Hold On._

The plants boiled back until only thinner vines were holding her back by the arms and legs. His clawed hand reached down to tilt her face to his own.

"Quite pretty. What are you doing in my territory?" He was already checking her scent - completely masked by something that smelled like roses, only faker.

Botan was currently trying to feel afraid enough to satisfy his senses. Thinking that the plant that was close to squishing her at any moment to help her, she said, "Your Lordship, I was wondering if you had an opening in your household for a lowly scullery girl. I need work." These were both true, Botan thought to herself with satisfaction, then tried to make herself even more fearful.

Kurama's golden eyes narrowed. "Cut the act. And it's 'Lord', not 'Lordship'." Botan blinked, slightly miffed by his quick and sharply spoken reply.

"It's not an act. I need work." she repeated, a tad more angrily.

"Very well," he muttered, raising silver eyebrows. "I need another servant. Not a scullery girl, but a maid." He considered her eyes again. She seemed quite trustworthy, and her scent, starting to escape the horrible smell of whatever she was wearing, was alluring.

"Thank you, my lord." she replied, respectfully bowing her head. He nodded, and the vines recessed into the ground, innocently becoming the lovely flower once more. She rubbed her arms carefully, making sure she could move everything before getting up.

"Follow me. Can you walk?" he asked trying to act as though women survived encounters with his plants all the time and then asked for work.

"Not fast. My lord." she added after a pause. He calmly walked back and placed his hands around her waist before hefting her up onto his shoulders.

Before Botan could think about what she was doing (That unaccountable bastard! How _dare_ he treat her like this!) she had pulled herself from his grasp and punched him in the stomach.

He groaned and fell to the ground. Botan covered her mouth, gasping. Oooops. "Oh, my lord, my utmost apologies -"

He coughed, trying to hide his astonishment. "Was that an accident? No lies. And for the last time, your stupid servant act isn't going to work. I'm going to hire you either way, if you can pack a punch like that."

She considered her answer carefully before she came forth with it. "Well, picking me up like a piece of luggage is a jackass thing to do. I may be a servant seeking work, but I have standards, and somebody slinging me around like a sack of wheat definitely doesn't meet them."

"...touche. And you've _definitely _got the job. But why, pray tell, did you find it necessary to hit me in such a tender area as my stomach? None of the other maids have ever had a problem with how I carry them." he said, smirking slightly.

"I suppose you should work more for the individual, my lord?" she asked calmly. He threw back his head and laughed abruptly. Botan took a step back nervously, but then smiled in return.

After several seconds of laughter, he stopped to wipe his eyes. "Well. Might I deign to carry you, my lady, seeing as it would be much faster?"

"You might," she answered haughtily. "As long as I'm not thrown over your shoulder," she added as he advanced in the same way he had before.

"Picky," was all he said before he had grabbed her by the waist and cradled her in his arms. It was a very awkward position if you weren't trying to intimately view his chest. Botan was trying very hard not to, and failing miserably.

He was sweet. And charming. And a thief. And she momentarily wished that she didn't have to do what she had to do.

They had been going very quickly from tree to tree so the area around melted into a green-brown blur, but soon he slowed and said quickly but calmly, "Close your eyes, please."

She obeyed, rather nervously. She experienced a muted thump and a rush of wind that meant they had landed somewhere deep, flinched, and felt him chuckling before she heard it. Did he actually have to hold her this close? Now he was striding forward purposefully. There was complete silence for a few seconds, and then he muttered, "Alright, you can open them now," before she heard the chatter of voices.

She opened them with a relived sigh, then gasped.

Bags of gold were everywhere. Coins spilled into the open walkway. Elegant mahogany chests were filled with assorted finery. A silver mirror stood in the left corner, absolutely enormous. Lesser demons scurried to and fro, along with demonesses in some type of sluttish uniform. Botan still couldn't tear her eyes away from the gold -

"I wouldn't touch it if I were you. It's magical." His golden eyes danced.

"How so?" she asked curiously. Think about how much Koenma could use that sort of spell. He eyed her suspiciously, and she realized it was very stupid to ask. "I'm sorry, I was just curious, and it seems like such a powerful spell -"

"Don't ask again. If there's one thing I don't like, it's pesky, curious females." He sniffed disdainfully, smirking slightly to prove it was a joke. He really had that one smarmy expression of his down. "Ha ha." she deadpanned in equally disdainful reply.

"Kurama! Good thing you're back!" One of the many demons rushed forward. This one was lanky, more sturdily built than Youko, with waist length black hair that was covered by a tilted cap. Leathery wings enfolded behind him flapped, sending several lesser demons in the vicinity tumbling into treasures, to hurriedly get up. Botan supposed it was the curse.

The demon looked at her curiously. "Another one so soon, Kurama? You just bedded a maid yesterday."

There was a moment of awkward silence. Kurama set Botan down with feline grace, and she leaned on his arm for support, blushing a dull red at these words.

"No?" He titled his head wonderingly. "You mean you're NOT going to have sex with a member of the household?"

"Shut up, Kuronue." He turned to Botan. "This is Kuronue. He's the only one allowed to be this annoying, and that's because he's irreplaceable. If you or anyone else was ever this obnoxious...well. Let's just say that he's a lucky bastard."

"Oh, that's the way to win them over." Kuronue said, grinning wickedly while watching a red pendant swing around lazily from a long finger of his. He winked at Botan. "Don't worry, he's really not _that _bad. It's happens to be one of those weeks of the month." Botan giggled, then coughed to hide it when Youko glared at her.

"I'm happy to report I don't have a cycle. Now, Kuronue, show her to the servants' quarters. She'll be a maid. I have business to attend to," he said by way of parting to Botan, and gave her a deep bow before melting into the crowd he ruled over.

Kuronue watched him go with shock. "Did you hear that? He has business to attend to. I'm sure it's devilishly important. Ah, miss, you appear to be shaking. Did one of his nasty plants get to you? I suppose we can remedy that." He said, allowing her a muscled arm to lean on. She accepted it gratefully, and he led her to her quarters.

Reviewer Responses -  
Thundercat: Really? COOL!  
b/k all the way: Totally...(nervous cough)...  
Anonymous: We'll see how it goes with Ayame...I don't really know that much about her so I'm considering making her an OC, which I really don't want to do, or editing her out and having a different person be my backstabbing spy. Any suggestions?  
KaraKurama: Thanks!  
evilchik: (sob) I'm so sorry.


End file.
